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Congress warns that Commercial Baby Foods are tainted with Heavy Metals
Here’s what foods to worry about and how to make your own baby food
On February 4, 2021, the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy of the Committee on Oversight and Reform issued a report, “Baby Foods are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury.”
According to the report, the FDA received a “secret slide presentation” from Hain (Earth’s Best Organic) on August 1, 2020, which showed increased risks of toxic heavy metals in baby foods. Because of this information, on November 6, 2020, the subcommittee requested internal documents and test results from seven of the largest manufacturers of organic and non-organic baby food in the US.
Four of the companies responded. Nurture, Beech-Nut, Hain and Gerber produced their internal testing policies, test results for ingredients and/or finished products as well as documentation about what the companies did when internal testing limits were exceeded.
Walmart (Parent’s Choice), Campbell (Plum Organics), and Sprout Organic Foods refused to cooperate with the subcommittee’s investigation, and as a result, the subcommittee voiced “grave concerns” about their baby food products.
High levels of toxic heavy metals in commercial baby foods
According to the subcommittee report, documentation showed that company standards permit dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals and that manufacturers have often sold foods that exceeded those levels. The greatest risk is for babies under two. Here are the subcommittee’s findings:
According to internal company documents and test results obtained by the Subcommittee, commercial baby foods are tainted with significant levels of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. Exposure to toxic heavy metals causes permanent decreases in IQ, diminished future economic productivity, and increased risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior in children. Toxic heavy metals endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function.
These are the subcommittee’s recommendations:
- Mandatory testing — Baby food manufacturers…
